Münster – July 3, 2007

We are fortunate that we can feel at home in so many places in Germany! After experiencing the more rural Roxel, we moved into the city of Münster to visit Sabine (sister of Martin’s mom) and Alf. Being in town, we focused more on the city itself, including a visit to the cathedral where Andrew, as he has done in all churches, lit a candle in silent reflection, this time beneath a statue of St. Barbara. Other highlights in the city were various sculptures (or non-sculptures… what really is a sculpture anyway?) that are part of an internationally acclaimed art event that takes place in Münster every ten years. Martin’s favorite, and he was sooooo excited to actually ‘find’ it, is the 5 kilometer long invisible string (like fishing line) that is strung around town, 30 centimeters to 15 meters above the ground, over streets, through buildings, through parks and over waterways. Its exact route has not been disclosed, so looking for it is a part of its appeal. And, we discovered it as we approached the castle, on our way to visiting some of the spots where Martin’s dad hung out while a student in Münster some years ago. Other highlights with Sabine and Alf included playing games of Blink and Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht (Parcheesi), and eating Meterwurst (Andrew’s favorite), and a visit to the Rüschhaus, where famous writer and poet Annette von Droste-Hülshof wrote some of her most famous works. We earlier had visited the castle where she was born with Ulrich and had been in the city where she died, Meersburg, way back in April, the first weekend we were in Germany.

As during earlier parts of our visit, the boys keep remarking how much people are going out of their way, giving of themselves, to greet and welcome us! We are indeed fortunate to be able to experience this and only hope we can come close to being as hospitable to others some day.